A few thoughts about the whole filesharing debacle

[darkemeralds]

I read somewhere that Megaupload accounted for 4% of ALL THE TRAFFIC ON THE INTERNET, which is an incredible amount of traffic. The odds against the FBI singling any one individual out for an occasional one-off download, among 4% of the whole internet's traffic, must be astronomical.

Still, one would be kind of crazy to continue the practice. It's no longer feeling vaguely daring, or comfortably familiar. It feels like high-risk behavior, and I'm notoriously risk-averse.

Besides, speaking for myself, I can't say that most of the TV content I've consumed (ever) has enriched me very much in its own right. It's my fannish interactions with the content--fic, chatwatches, reviews, comments, conversations--that add value to my life.

I would miss that, and I wonder what might come along to replace it.



BUT! When will the content producers understand that many of us would gladly pay a buck or two per episode to enjoy their damn shows? When will they get that most of us no longer want to own a bunch of bulky, stupid DVD boxes? Or watch the soul-sucking commercials that have nothing to do with our lives?

Why can't they provide content the way I want to enjoy it--streaming, with control over start/stop/reverse/re-watch so that I can synchronize with a friend in a different time zone or a different house, and watch in virtual togetherness? Maybe capture a frame or two for my personal enjoyment or icon-making?

I don't want to steal content or put it back up online. I don't even really want to own most of it. I just want to share it--maybe once or twice--with my friends or family, the way I used to with a DVD set, or sitting together in front of the TV.

Audible.com has a pretty good model--monthly subscription fees for x-number of audiobook titles per month, and access for up to five devices. It lets me and my sister share books without buying two copies--just like with a paper book. They get a lot of money from me and return a lot of value, and it's a happy relationship.

Hollywood should do the same, instead of spending all their resources on congresscritters and stupid draconian laws designed to save a dying business model. I don't understand them at all.

Comments

[executrix]

As a convinced cheapskate I'm waiting until July to see the latest season of Breaking Bad on Netflix DVD, but I *could* spring for, I think it's $2 per, to get it from iTunes--I know I actually did that once or twice last year.

[darkemeralds]

I probably should have reflected a little more before ranting: I'm not an iTunes customer, so I overlooked that option. Does the content appear very soon after broadcast? Is the file high-quality enough to watch on a big TV or high resolution computer screen? And--a big question for me--can you even play it on a Linux or Android device?

In general, though, the iTunes model seems about right. Thanks for the reminder.

[executrix]

All good questions! To which I have no answer whatsoever! (Except that I think the content is available pretty quickly.)

I just read a post about a cookbook club whose 15 members get together every week and have a potluck meal of dishes made from the chosen two cookbooks; if we have to, we could wait until shows were out on DVD and then organize fannish conventicles circulating one purchased copy among a group. Sort of like an APA, come to think of it.*

*For those getting into fandom after printzines went out of vogue, an Amateur Press Association (APA) was a zine distribution model. X number of fen would submit one copy of their fics to the person who was in charge of that issue, who would then mimeograph or photocopy (depending on date) X number of copies and send each member a zine consisting of everybody's story.

[darkemeralds]

I have no beef with paying for a copy, though certainly being able to share a single copy some reasonable number of times, like a family-pak of five or six, would be better.

It's not so much "how many viewings can I squeeze out of this one physical DVD?"--because I don't want a physical DVD in the first place. It's "how soon and how easily can I consume this digital content along with my friends--and then move on to more digital content?"

The number of shows or movies I've ever even wanted to watch more than twice is represented by the very small shelf space I've devoted to DVDs in my house. I'd bet that that's true of the vast majority of all DVDs sold. Do some people rip and share DVDs? Of course. But two viewings per copy is probably a good rule of thumb, no matter what format the "copy" takes.

So why not just put the damn stuff out there, charge a fair price for a "copy", and watch the money pour in?

[executrix]

I think part of the problem is that it's still too expensive to do micro-transactions--i.e., if it costs $2 to sell somebody something for $1, it obviously won't fly, and even if it costs 25 cents that's a problem.

I don't know if it was actually true, but I was told years ago that it was absolutely de rigueur for Europeans to have a card-swipe reader on their personal computers, and swipes could be taken from a stored value card so even people with poor credit could purchase a certain number of euros' worth. I don't see why we can't put, say, $100 on a "buying cheap stuff" card which would be equally usable for bus fares, newspapers, candy bars, and song downloads.

[pandarus]

You can buy or rent over itunes, fwiw, and things seem to go online in a fairly timely fashion - albeit not at once. Maybe a week or two of lag?

[darkemeralds]

I somehow missed the iTunes boat. Isn't that strange? I broke up with music about the time I would otherwise have had an iPod, and so the whole iTunes universe seems alien to me.

I need to change that, don't I?

[darkemeralds]

Also, hi! :D

[legionseagle]

This is exactly the point I keep making; SOPA and its cognates are trying to impose an outdated revenue model on a world which has moved beyond them, and name-calling those who don't accept their attempts is counter-productive.

[darkemeralds]

Particularly when "name-calling" becomes "indictment".

[weimar27]

i agree with this. Hollywood needs to start adapting to the 21st century.

This is why I like my zune pass, and services like netflix and amazon where even if it's the day after I have some kinda of control.

The annoying thing though is that i can really share it with someone who wants to watch the show.

[darkemeralds]

Tell me more about your Zune pass. What makes it work for you?

Last time I looked at streaming Netflix (for which I do have an account, mostly used by other family members), there was almost nothing current in the TV show listings. It seemed to be mostly last year's DVD sets.

Since my very-inferior Android tablet is the only device I have that can a) access streaming Netflix and b) present content in a form I can bear to look at, I can't say that I've pursued the option very far. But that sharing limitation really bothers me, too.

Unless my friend and I can access and stream the same Netflix file at the same rate at the same moment, the only sharing possible is after-the-fact, in emails or comments. That's not as much fun!

[executrix]

I think my fandom experience was ineradicably warped by my first fandom having ended 20 years before I dipped a toe into it, and I'm actually kind of dischuffed about writing Revenge fics when I know I'm almost certain to get jossed.

However, I'm pretty sure that network shows and PBS turn up either on Hulu or on their own Website within days of broadcast, it's just premium cable that holds out. Admittedly, I want to catch up with Mad Men, Homeland, and Breaking Bad sooner or later, but I'm OK about waiting. Perhaps because none of these has a real fandom.

ETA: I haven't been arsed to find out how Hulu Plus works, but that might also offer a usable model.

[darkemeralds]

Same here. The subscription model is great, but one does have to pick and choose among options, and right now my subscription money is in Audible (and my various ridiculously costly sources of internet access).

Really, a pay-as-you-go model would suit me fine for TV, just as it suits some people very well for cellular. Options! That's what we need.

[weimar27]

Zune pass: Zune is microsoft's equivalent of itunes but it has a model that napster used to have. I pay 45 every three months and then I can download most of the music in their library onto up to a set amount of computers and devices. I like that i can download music and if i don't want to keep it then i don't feel bad about getting rid of it. The only annoying thing is that if you want to buy outside of your plan you have to buy microsoft credits. But i only have to do that if i want to rent/buy movies.

Netflix doesn't really offer current seasons. I think amazon is a little better for then when it comes to their prime subscription. But if they have current eps then it's pretty rare. They do have current eps up for streaming.

Really i think the industry needs to move towards a hulu, or beefed up netflix/amazon model. And not restrict it to just US users. Piracy is really because they aren't meeting the supply for people who can't afford/don't want cable. Or overseas people who can't access international shows any other way.

[darkemeralds]

Thanks for the info! I'm an Amazon Prime member and I really owe it to myself to look at some of the benefits other than free shipping.

As to overseas viewing: Yes! I have to admit that any decision I make about file sharing will be colored by a strong desire to see
Sherlock and Doctor Who when my UK friends see them, rather than months later.

[weimar27]

pretty much.

[lamentables]

Not to mention the ridiculousness of region coding, which is all about a stupid mix of greed and control and which, I believe, promotes 'piracy'. I'd love a legitimate, DVD copy of The Middleman, for instance, but it's not available with Region 2 coding which means while I can buy it, I can't watch it. (And those sites that do stream US TV don't allow other parts of the world to watch.)

India doesn't region code its DVDs, leading to massive shopping sprees every time we go there.

[jumpuphigh]

Both cbs.com and abc.com are reliable about putting up episodes by 5 or 6 a.m. eastern the day after they show. I do get tired of the same one or two commercials over and over though. Also, they don't keep the episodes up very long so if you are like me and like to save up episodes and then just watch them all in a gorge-fest, that doesn't work. I use Hulu as well but their selection doesn't much match with what I want to watch. Then there is BravoTV which doesn't put up episodes until weeks after they've shown (although they put up clips and such which will spoil you even if you don't watch the clips and that frustrates me).

All that to say, yep, I agree with you.

[executrix]

I wish there was an on-demand facility for getting a DVD burned with episodes from a show that is never going to get a commercial release--in times of stress I wish I could pull out my "awful canceled shows starring Sean Maher" DVD for comfort viewing.

[ruric]

hen will the content producers understand that many of us would gladly pay a buck or two per episode to enjoy their damn shows? When will they get that most of us no longer want to own a bunch of bulky, stupid DVD boxes? Or watch the soul-sucking commercials that have nothing to do with our lives?

So much yes. I mean we've been heading this way since I got seriously into fandom back in 1996/1997 - 14 years and they still haven't got their heads around it or come up with a working business model?

If producers gave me a legitimate way to get my hands on the content I want in a timely fashion and at a reasonable price I'd be there in a flash. And you know what? If they then produced DVDs with extra content and special features not only would I buy the download ep on day of showing but I'd probably buy the DVD box sets for 25-50% of the shows I watch too. (See I like to have the extra content even if I don't get around to watching it for a couple of years). *G*

[kis]

I think it's all bound up with advertizing. Everything is a kind of soap opera these days. It's not just the series they're selling, but the adverts they come with, the merchandise, etc etc.

[executrix]

Actually, I think the show is conceived of as an advertisement delivery system, and TPTB think that there's no difference between a reality show, a scripted show, a sports event, and the Yule Log. Otherwise they wouldn't impose hiatuses just when viewers are getting involved with a show, and they certainly wouldn't show episodes in wrong order.

[kis]

And in an internet world, they'd have the sense not to air popular/cult shows at the same time so that fandom - the most likely people to DL out of sheer overenthusiastic desperation - could all be on the same page.

[tehomet]

It's like the Napster case, IMO. It will cause a change, not an ending.

/two cents

[darkemeralds]

In the few weeks since I wrote this post, I think I'm already seeing the change. For one thing, there are twenty other, less monolithic, filesharing sites, and people are using them all. For another, knocking down MU has made other, legal options more visible (at least to me). So I'm pursuing a combination of sources in building my little infotainment sphere, and I imagine lots of other people are doing the same.